Lena Dunham apologizes for 'distasteful joke' about abortion

Lena Dunham has apologised for saying “
I still haven’t had an abortion, but I wish I had” during a podcast about women’s right to choose.

“I truly hope a distasteful joke on my part won’t diminish the amazing work of all the women who participated,” the “Girls” creator and star wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday night.

“My words were spoken from a sort of ‘delusional girl’ persona I often inhabit, a girl who careens between wisdom and ignorance (that’s what my TV show is too) and it didn’t translate,” Dunham continued. “That’s my fault. I would never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy.”

Dunham’s controversial statement on abortion was made in a December 14 episode of her podcast, “Women of the Hour.” Titled “Choice,” the episode featured Dunham recalling a visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas before expressing her appreciation for the women who had to make the difficult choice to have an abortion.

On Tuesday, she came under fire from critics on social media who believed her remark about wanting to have the experience trivialized the difficulty of the choice.

Listen to the full podcast below. Dunham’s controversial statement was made at about 13:25 minutes in: